"Old Wounds"

A terrified shriek rang through the empty wooded area, causing the occupants of the tent to scramble out.

"Auri!" A blonde elven girl called, trying to get her friend's attention. Her eyes were unfocused as she lay on the dewy grass, her body already succumbing to shock.

"Just give us all yer stuff and ya don't have ta get hurt." A man commanded, sword drawn and pointing at the two. The young woman, Auri, was already on the ground with a huge gash in her side. Blood pooling at a dangerous rate.

"Erin, help! Auri is hurt!" The girl cried, but Liz was already gone. Their voices fading into the darkness as she stumbled into the bushes and into safety. Leaving the two women alone at the camp with a rather large group of bandits. "Erin!"

Liz was afraid. Terrified, in fact. She could try to help, sure. But this was at a point in her life that she didn't trust her abilities. The fire, pricked and prodded in her veins. Threatening to burst out. A constant reminder of what she'd done. What she could do.

She'd been communicating with Auri to get ingredients as per request from Athras. It was a mutually beneficial agreement. They'd trade materials. Auri had access to shipments in town and they had access to the plentiful supplies in the wilderness. Meetings took place well outside of the towns.

One night during a meeting, unfortunately…

Sobs echoed through the woods as Liz slowly made her way back, shame filling her being. She'd run. She'd run away when they needed her. She'd abandoned them and—

The blonde haired elf was curled over a body, wracked with sobs. Auri lay there, unmoving. It looked like red paint splashed and pooled beneath her. The blonde elf let out another pained cry for help, throwing her head to the sky.

"Why whywhy?" She sobbed, their camp completely ransacked. The bandits, gone. Having no interest in the people. Liz just stood there, in the treeline and watched her mourn. Silent.

The memory of then seemed to morph before her very eyes. The young elven girl. Her blonde hair, once long, was now chopped haphazardly above her shoulders. Auri had always said she loved Sera's beautiful hair.

They had been best friends.

Liz stared at the girl as she came waltzing into Haven. She almost couldn't believe her eyes. Sera was here. Aside from her hair, Sera hadn't changed one bit.

The otherworlder flinched from her perch as Sera's eyes passed over her, paying her no mind. She almost wanted to hide, but then realized she was in her crow form. She couldn't recognize her.

'Not yet.' A voice inside of her sneered. 'She will find you. Find out.'

Liz cursed. Especially when Maxwell made eye contact with her from his spot behind her. Sera was rambling, from the looks of it. But he motioned for her to come down. The small group had stopped near the tavern, snow fluttering down gently from the overcast skies.

He knew. There weren't many crows in the Frostbacks, she'd imagine. Liz fluffed her feathers and shook them, getting the light dusting of snow off of them. She hopped off of her perch and flew down, landing on Maxwell's outstretched arm. He smiled when she tilted her head, as if to say, 'What do you need?'

"This is Sera. She is part of a group of people called the Red Jenny's. She was just telling me about how her and her people could help us." He explained, getting a rather odd look out of Sera as she watched the exchange. "What do you think, Erin?"

Liz peered between Maxwell and Sera, who appeared almost disturbed that he was talking to a crow like it was a person. She ruffled her feathers from her spot on his arm. She had to concentrate on the task at hand as opposed to the turning of her stomach. Better now than later, she assumed. Sera was not going to be happy to see Liz.

"Yer talkin' to the bird... sorry to break it to ya, but..." Liz cawed in response, getting a squint out of Sera. "Oi, wait... is that?"

The otherworlder felt her body shift and noted the way the elven archer's face drained of all it's color. She pulled out her bow and notched an arrow. When Liz was completely formed, she held her hands up in the universal 'surrender' gesture.

"She is trustworthy. Sera was a friend of Auri's." Liz spoke up, almost afraid to see Sera's expression as it turned from fear to complete and utter fury.

"You." A venomous growl erupted from Sera.

"The two of you know each other?" Cassandra, who had just approached asked. The warrior's armor clinked as she came to a stop between the two women. As if to act as a buffer of some sort.

"Mutual friend." Liz says, trying to hide the pain in her voice but fails. The Seeker looked confused.

"I ain't no friend of yers." Sera spat, causing Liz to flinch and nod.

"I was simply stating-"

"I don't care! You're the reason Auri is dead! You killed Auri!" She accused, throwing the arrow on the ground at Liz's feet. Obviously recognizing that trying to hurt Liz in front of the 'Herald' would be a bad idea.

"Wait. Wait. What is going on, here? Stand down, Sera." Cassandra had her hand on the hilt of her sword, ready to fight if need be. Liz simply stood there, frown on her face.

"Auri was a family friend of the Trevelyan's." Maxwell's hand was scratching his facial hair, a thoughtful look on his features. "She was murdered by some bandits during a supply run, from what I understand."

"Then how is this Erin's fault?" The Seeker inquired, looking at the hysterical rogue.

"She abandoned us." She growled, "You don't abandon friends."

Those last words were punctuated so carefully, they dug at Liz's heart. She knew. You never abandon friends. She didn't want to. But she had to.

That's when she put her bow away, causing some of the tension to drop. She gave a rather heated glare in Liz's direction. Hate simmered behind her eyes. Absolute hate. She definitely blamed the young mage for the death of her best friend.

Because of her departure, Auri died. Sera survived, but hadn't been able to protect her due to the suddenness of the ambush.

It was Liz's fault. She could have given her life saving care, sure. But she could have also accidentally killed them all. But any kind of explanation simply sounded like an excuse, even in her head.

So she remained silent.

What happened at the library in the White Spire was proof enough just how dangerous mages really were. It took her a better part of the year simply trying to learn to concentrate so she didn't accidentally kill people. Even now, there was still that chance.

"Just keep 'er away from me, will ya? I don' want to see her stupid frigging face." The girl stomped off toward the tavern, leaving the small group in silence. Maxwell looked deep in thought before his gaze trailed from Sera's empty spot to Liz.

'I would hate me too, if I were you.' She watched the elf stomp away toward the tavern, 'I already hate me.'

"Is this true?" Maxwell was the one that inquired.

"She was not lying." Liz mumbled, causing Maxwell to wince. He looked as though he didn't know what to think on the matter. Cassandra, who had been standing there waiting to speak to her brother, was now looking at Liz with a look akin to disdain. Disappointment.

"You abandoned a girl in the time of need and allowed her to just die?" Cassandra asked, almost incredulously.

"I don't expect you to understand, but believe me when I say that was the best thing I could have done." Liz explained as she unconsciously picked at her arm warmers, which covered her burn scars along her forearms. She almost failed to notice how her brother's eyes seemed to trail over them before looking back up at her face. Cassandra looked even more irritated at her words.

The young mage sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose as she turned to walk away. She ignored the swift words between the two warriors. Her brother likely had an idea as to what went awry, but she felt... Liz felt that if she tried to explain it to Sera... that it really wouldn't matter either way. Auri was already dead.

And she loathed herself for it.

Liz spent a majority of that day sulking in her cat form. She'd only ever been able to shapeshift into smaller creatures. These were the two she picked. It took extensive training and concentration to even perfect them enough to lounge around as said animal.

Cats were nice. The only cat she'd been able to stare at and use for reference having been Athras. So a grey short haired tabby is what she'd went for.

The young mage ambled around, head hanging low as she ignored the commotion around her. Though she seemed to linger near the healer's tents and Adan's hut, just in case she was needed in an emergency. Just because she was feeling awful didn't mean she would ignore other people's problems as a result.

The woman seemed to especially avoid the tavern, for obvious reasons. Sera seemed to stay in and around the place. Liz didn't have it in her to see Sera at that point. Guilt ridden, she listened to others with a sort of detached interest.

Maxwell, as she'd learned that day, had made the decision to side with the templars in the war and ask them for help. Liz officially had no stance in the war, but didn't really like the templars at all because of the experience she had with them.

But she didn't like mages, either. She saw, firsthand, what mages could do. Although she felt it was unfair to think that way, since just because she had horrible control didn't mean others did as well. She still felt biased against both sides.

Same would go for templars, right? Not everyone was the same. Liz had to constantly remind herself of this fact. Even though it was very difficult to try to remain objective in a situation where she had emotional ties to.

Liz's haze of self-pity was interrupted by a rather loud noise.

In the distance, she could hear people yelling. Then the sound of a screech. A familiar screech that made Liz's eyes twitch. Quickly, the woman trotted toward the sound. Her paws splashed against the slush as she rounded a corner behind a building. It was there, she transformed into her human form. She continued her jog toward the commotion and abruptly came to a skidding stop at the gate to Haven.

A couple of soldiers were surrounding the beast as it reared its body and kicked out. It screeched again, only to spot Liz at the entrance of the town.

Liz glared.

"Rin…." She spoke, seeing her push passed the people and knocking a few others over. She was going too fast! The blue beast barreled in her direction. "Rin. Rin Rin! Wait, stop! RIN!"

She yelled, feeling the air leave her lungs as Rin headbutted the mage and sent her skidding back first into the slush and snow beneath her. She wheezed and squeezed her eyes shut, tears pricking at the edges. "Oh Gods..."

The sound of metal singing against a sheath sounded from above her.

"Erin, are you okay?!" Maxwell yelled and she held up her hand, giving him a thumbs up.

Rin screeched and stood above Liz, the blue velvety nose right in front of her face.

"Calm, Maxwell. It's just … this is… Rin." She tried to breathe, though with much difficulty. She looked at the beast and growled, "What...what was that for?"

The only answer she got was spittle as Rin 'sneezed' into Liz's face. She could have sworn she heard someone make a disgusted noise from beside Maxwell. Maybe even a few snorts from some passerbys.

Liz leaned up and grabbed Rin's bridle, her eyes narrowing and meeting the blue beast's. Both refusing to yield. The young mage hissed in a low tone, so no one else could hear. "I swear to all that is holy, Rin. Quit your shit."

The hart flattened her ears against her head, letting out a low growl in return.

"Ummm… Erin? Is this yours?" Her brother asked as she wriggled her way out from underneath her legs. Liz simply sighed and wiped off the mud, though that did nothing for her soaked state.

"I suppose you could say that." She answered, looking up at the young man. His eyebrow rose. "We were separated during the explosion. I guess she found me."

That, at least, was true. Technically Rin was Athras' hart. Though she still couldn't stop referring to her as an 'elk-moose-thing' in her head.

Maxwell shook his head and simply turned to walk off, stating that he would be in the Chantry if she needed him. Cassandra stood there, looking down at Liz contemplatively. The young mage felt smaller under her gaze, but refused to let it show on her face.

"Do you need something, Seeker?" She asked, trying to sound polite. Though it came out snappy. Liz winced, but it didn't seem like the woman even cared all that much.

"We are to be headed out to Therinfal Redoubt tomorrow."

"I know, he has informed me."

"I understand Max—the Herald's hesitance to bring you out into the field." She coughs, trying to cover up her slip-up. Liz knew that Cassandra and Maxwell seemed to be getting along quite well. They seemed close, like friends. But it wouldn't surprise Liz if her brother tried to court the woman, if given the chance.

She saw the looks he gave her, afterall. The admiration. The soft smiles and the way he tried to impress her. Liz nodded, "What is it that you need? You wish for me to accompany you guys?"

"It would be for the best, yes. I have seen how efficient you are in stressful situations. Having a combat medic in our midst could prevent additional loss to our squad."

"And potential allies." Liz finished, knowing that the likelihood of the 'invitation' being a trap was high. Something that she'd intended to inform Maxwell, but it seems his friends had all of that under control. "As much as I … care for Maxwell, he can be quite blind to these kinds of things. He lacks the ability to think ahead and plan for the worst."

"He is a good man." The Seeker defended, a hardness in her eyes.

"I never doubted that." Liz smirks, "I am just glad he has people like you to look out for him. Thank you."

The warrior looked almost taken aback by Liz's sudden switch in demeanor. Her usual distant or bored expression gone. The mage would be lying if she said she hadn't gotten attached to the eldest Trevelyan.

Even though she felt she had some sort of obligation to keep Erin's brother safe, due to her dreams plaguing her as of late. But … it wasn't just that. The man had a way about him. The way he walked and talked. His beliefs, much like the Seeker's, that he was put in this position for a reason. He was slowly changing, but not like she'd expect. Unlike most, where power corrupted. For Maxwell, he felt the need to protect. To use that power to change the world, for the good. Not with the heavy handedness of most leaders, no. But with a gentle coaxing hand that had surprised her at first.

'He is the epitome of Lawful Stupid. Poor man.' she thought. Remembering how it'd almost gotten him hurt more than a couple of times. Swooping in to 'save the day' only to get ambushed by bandits.

Liz snorted and laughed, only to blink and look around. Evidently Cassandra had left. The young mage had missed what the woman had said to her before she walked off. Too lost in her head. Liz sighed and turned, ambling toward their shared cabin.

Cole

Cole hadn't known what he was, initially. There was really no other way to put it. Most of his time spent at the White Spire had been filled with confusion as he tried to find his way. Find a way to not disappear and fall into the darkness. He didn't understand. He did what he could. What he thought was right.

But he had been wrong.

He realized that, now. Cole thought that it was a bit too late, on his part. Rhys thought him a monster, the templar Evangeline was killed by the Lord Seeker. Wynne died to bring back the templar woman. Everything was a mess and it was all his fault.

Lord Seeker Lambert had been a bad man, oppressing the mages and causing many deaths along the way. He'd also hurt his friends, so Cole killed him. No one hurt his friends and got away with it.

Deep in his thoughts, the rogue sat perched atop a wooden scaffolding inside of Therinfal Redoubt. He knew that they couldn't see him, that as long as he wished it they wouldn't. He wasn't human, afterall. After he'd realized what he was, a demon, he could control it. His realization had been a major turning point for him. Once he knew, he no longer felt the need to sleep or eat. He could even make people see or forget him at will.

So he was here. To see the templars.

Originally he'd had the idea to go there for their help, afraid of what he was and what he could become. He knew that they would cut him down and kill him if he became what he was. If he hurt people again. But Cole saw the corruption inside of the templars. It was burning in their veins, making them angry. Not them, but what was inside of them. It sang a different song.

So he watched. For days, weeks even.

Though the young man had to keep his distance. In particular, the man named Lucius. His face didn't match his words. It didn't feel right. Lucius was like Cole, but not. He was Envy, wanting to find his place. But he was doing it wrong. He was hurting people.

Cole also knew the Herald of Andraste was to arrive that day. And when they did, he shadowed them. Observing them, too. Were they corrupted? Like the templars? No.

But he did see one face that caused his chest to go cold. He recognized that person. Erin. What was she doing here?

Flashes of their time in the Spire flew before his eyes and he had to shake his head to rid himself of the images. The images of her dirt smeared face, wide frantic eyes. The blood, oh Maker the blood.

Would she remember him?

He didn't have time to think about it. But he knew he'd have to try harder to stay out of sight. He still wasn't sure if Erin would be able to see him, even though he now had control over it. He tilted his head, taking comfort in the way his hat hid most of his face. Shielded him from the world.

Erin felt… off. Erin wasn't Erin. Everything, a lie. His eyes flicked to the dwarven woman at her side. Jade Cadash felt broken somehow. Knots upon knots. Tangled, tearing, trying to stay together. Something missing. Then there was Maxwell, the weight of the world on his shoulders. Can't back down. Can't falter. But… fear. Trying to see him hurt, though. It was bright, almost blinding.

A woman with short hair and an angry face. Cassandra, grim determination, protection. She shadowed the Herald like a sentry. Then another dwarf, but he had a crossbow—

Lost in his thoughts, Cole had almost missed the opportunity to follow them into the building. A noble of some sort was trying to give the group orders, but he paid the man no mind. He was too focused on trying to remain hidden from them. Or, Erin in particular. He didn't want her to see him right then.

The blonde rogue fidgeted in the corner of the room, watching as the situation escalated in a blink of an eye. It didn't surprise him at all. He knew. It was why he remained. Stayed, because he didn't want the anger inside of them to spread. To hurt.

A fight had broken out. He knew they were placing a trap for the party. But it seemed, at that moment, the group needn't the help he could provide. So he remained in the shadows.

Battle hardened as they were, Erin stayed in the back. Looking almost unsure of herself. She clutched her staff, knuckles white. He observed the way her brown gaze flicked between her comrades. As if expecting something. Waiting. Like him.

"Oh yeah, you want a piece of me? Come and get it, bitches!" The black haired dwarf yelled from the background, pulling his gaze from the mage in the back. The short woman waved her halberd around, smirking. One of the templars charged forth, taking her bait. If her smirk could get any wider, it did. Jade strafed to the side and swept low, knocking his feet from underneath him with her weapon. This sent his heavy body toppling onto the floor.

'CLANK!'

A maniacal cackle, 'THUD!'

She hit the man in the face with the butt end of her halberd, knocking him out. She stood above him and jeered, "Daaaaamn. You got knocked the fuck out!"

"Sassy! Get your head in the game!" A sharp command from Varric, caused her to get into a serious fighting stance. Though the smirk didn't leave her face.

"Got it, old man!"

A sigh, 'THUNK'. The arrow hit it's mark. "You too, Sunny. Quit your dawdling."

Cole could have sworn he heard the older dwarf, Varric, mutter something about babysitting.

Envy had tried to steal Maxwell's face. Take his place. Cole wouldn't allow it. They were currently fighting off against the demon, swords drawn. They surrounded the thing, in a familiar formation as they worked in tandem. Yelling could be heard from across the battlefield. The young rogue remained hidden, popping in and out of vision. He couldn't necessarily control whether he could be seen or not while he attacked.

His daggers moved, telling his body where to go. Where to strike. Footwork, like a dance. It almost felt natural to him.

He'd almost gotten hit by an arrow or two, the dwarf having panicked at his sudden appearance. The warrior woman had shield bashed him in her surprised state, but he made her forget he was there once he disappeared.

Erin had gone missing. Cole knew for sure that she'd followed the group out to fight against the demon. Having determined that the medics and healers that the templars had could keep their wounded stable. She felt … protective. Her determination had practically rolled off of her as she shadowed the Herald. Much like Cassandra.

Who was he to her? He wanted to say brother, but—it didn't feel right. Maxwell looked at Erin and thought 'sister'. But Erin looked at Maxwell and… confliction.

Once the battle was finished, everything went still. The only sound coming from the warriors as they panted from overexertion. Erin had appeared, though Cole had no idea where she'd been prior.

Jade was the first to speak, "Balls. No wonder it tried to steal your face. That thing is frigging hideous."

'Thwack!'

"Ow!" Maxwell whined, causing everyone to look in his direction. "What was that for?"

Erin stood there, looking absolutely demonic. The mage was staring him down, her staff held in her hand like a club. Cole blinked. Confused. Hadn't she been adamant on keeping him safe? Why did she jut hit him over the head?

"Being stupid." Was her answer, as if it were obvious. Cole saw the way some of them frowned in disapproval at her actions. "Using yourself as a human shield will accomplish nothing, Maxwell."

The warrior simply grinned sheepishly, his hand scratching the sore spot on the top of his head.

From what Cole had witnessed, the Inquisition was there simply to help. They were set on closing the Breach and helping the people get back on their feet. To defend them.

The rogue was certain that the Herald was a good man, though it was incredibly hard to read him. The mark on his hand made it harder. Whenever he tried to focus in on him, it was like trying to look at the sun. It hurt. But it wasn't impossible, which was why he had gotten that initial impression. Kind, courageous—compassionate toward the people.

Being inside of his head for that short period of time helped, too. Cole and Envy both found out just how far he'd go to keep those he cared about safe. He'd, afterall, considered killing himself in order to kill Envy.

It'd taken Cole's convincing to tell the warrior that it didn't work that way.

So the lanky rogue followed the group as they headed back to Haven. Silently shadowing them, watching as they sat around the fire that night. His head tilted to the side, wondering when he could ask to join.

Cole, afterall, made sure to let Maxwell remember.

So he sat there in silence, fiddling with the wraps on his hands in the treeline.

"What was that?" He heard someone say, his eyes widened in alarm.

Liz

Liz was tending to the wounded along with a few of the other healers that happened to tag along. They had only taken a handful of scouts along with a few of Maxwell's friends. Luckily, there had only been few fatalities.

The young woman sat near the tent that night, tending to the wounds of a young man. The campfire provided amble heat and illumination for checking and redressing the wounds of the injured. Although the one she was currently working on wasn't all that injured at all.

It was a young man, who called himself Kyle, that she often took care of in Haven. Adan had taken a liking to calling him Klutz. Evidently he'd been from around Haven from before the explosion and the old man had known him. If the familiar banter had been anything to go by.

"How are you feeling?" She asked as she carefully redressed his wounds. Kyle peered up at her from underneath his mass of tight black curls.

"It could be worse." He answered and she wanted to hit him across the head. One should never say that. But she refrained and simply paused and twitched.

Kyle had some scarring in very … odd places. Signs of wounds that should have been fatal, but weren't. Liz was surprised he wasn't dead.

"Do you go out looking for trouble, or does it find you?" She grumbled.

"Now you're starting to sound like Adan." He grinned, "Old lady."

Liz tightened the bandage a little too much, getting a startled squeak from the scout.

"What did you say?"

"Ah-ahah—ah! Sorry!"

"We found you underneath a fallen scaffolding." She hissed, "With all the shenanigans you get into, I'm surprised you're not dead."

Indeed, the scout had been pinned underneath the mass of wood. Somehow. The poles barely grazing his head, as if he'd almost been impaled.

"Aw, come on sis. Go easy on the poor guy." Maxwell spoke through a mouthful of rations, his back turned to her as he sat at the fire. She could practically see the crumbs flying in her mind's eye. The woman let out a puff of air, nose flaring.

"Either he's still alive out of sheer luck, or skill. You gotta give the guy that, Sunny." Varric chimed in.

"Hey, yeah! What did you do before all of this?" Jade sounded enthusiastic, practically bouncing in her spot next to Varric. Her hands had stilled from her polishing of her halberd, "I bet you were a mercenary. Or, OOH! You were a town guard, huh?"

"I was a potato farmer." Kyle drawled, completely killing the image in everyone's head.

"…..oh."

"So it's luck." Varric concluded, bowing his head and scratching his chin.

"Is it?" Liz sounded skeptical and she blinked, thinking she saw something in the treeline just behind the group. Her brown eyes narrowed as she stood up, her bow already in her hands. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Maxwell swallowed his food and grabbed his sword. She pointedly ignored the way half of his face was covered in crumbs and bits of jerky.

'Thunk!' She let her arrow fly.

"Eep!" She heard someone squeak from the bushes, followed by the sound of a body falling.

"Show yourself!" She called, pulling out another arrow and aiming it.

A few of the others had taken to their battle stances, but it was Maxwell that had relaxed once he saw the tall lanky form exit the greenery. The moon and fire barely allowed Liz to see much, but she did see the ridiculously sized hat that he was wearing.

"You were following us? Why didn't you say something, Cole?" The elder Trevelyan sighed in relief, "I thought you were a bandit. Or worse, a bear."

Bears were worse?

"You know this man?" Cassandra asked, though her stance hadn't relaxed one bit. Skepticism ran through her gaze as she took in his form. The young man wasn't holding his weapons, which were strapped to his back. He was wearing leather armor, from the looks of it.

So, a rogue.

"Yes, don't you remember? I told you that he helped with the Envy demon. If it weren't for him, I would have had my pretty face taken." He smiled over at the Seeker, sheathing his sword in the process. He then turned back to the rogue, "Why don't you come and sit with us?"

He simply fidgeted in place as Liz stared at him critically. Her eyes practically bored holes into his hat. She couldn't see his features, but something was niggling at the back of her mind. The young woman took a few steps forward, almost getting into his personal bubble.

For once in her life, she was glad she was short. He couldn't hide underneath his hat if she were in front of him. She squinted at him. He stared back, his eyes slowly widening. Was that fear—wait.

That was when realized why he seemed so familiar.

"Erin? What's wrong?"

That's when Liz looked at him, really looked at him. He was easier to see, even though the light from the fire was dim. That shaggy blonde hair, shielding the most striking blue—

No.

She'd definitely seen those eyes before.

She felt frozen in place, like everything stopped. Her breathing, her heart. The fear in Cole's eyes spread to the rest of his face, his mask cracking. Uneasiness.

'Cole was – Cole was the person that I met back at-'

"Oh." Was the only thing that came out of her mouth. "It's you."

"You remember me." He breathed, almost like the thought itself was impossible. She frowned and she spoke before she even got the chance to think about what she was about to say.

"We were both covered in blood when we first actually met. How could I forget?" That caused his face to falter and she winced, eyes darting over to her brother. Evidently the topic was a sensitive one for him, as well.

"The two of you know eachother?" He questioned, brows scrunched as he looked between the two of them.

"You could say that." Liz stated through gritted teeth, trying not to let anyone know how uneasy she felt around Cole. Their last encounter did little to endear her to him. In fact, she'd rather not be in his vicinity at all. She was unaware of the way her hand seemed to twitch just over the scar he'd given her.

The young man's shoulders slumped, as if in response to her inner musings.

"I'll finish tending to your men." She bowed her head and left without a word, oblivious to the guilty expression on the rogue's face.

They were almost back to Haven. Liz flew above in her bird form, wings allowing her to glide across the skies with ease. She kept an eye out for hostiles, ready to swoop down and alarm the group if need be.

Her mind drifted, remembering the times that she messed up during her shapeshifting training.

"Concentrate, da'len!" Athras had commanded, his staff slamming against the ground loudly. How was she supposed to concentrate when he was being so loud?

Her body got smaller and smaller, slowly morphing. She was doing it. She was—

Then nothing. Everything went black for what felt like only seconds. Then the mage was face first on the ground, her hands twitching against the grass. Athras began to laugh, his dry sounding cackly laugh. Before he started to have a coughing fit.

He was speaking, though she knew not what language he was using. She got the odd feeling that he was talking crap about her. Irritation had roiled in her stomach at that moment.

Liz pushed herself into a kneeling position, feeling the air shift in places it shouldn't. Her face flushed, realizing that she was completely naked.

"Eeeugh! What!?" She managed, covering her breasts. "What happened to my clothes?!"

They had been perfectly good furs. Her first set, in fact. She'd made them herself with her own blood sweat and tears. Liz felt irritation at the memory, cawing as she saw the town in the distance. Athras had gone to explain they got lost in the fade. Somehow.

Not even he was sure how the fade worked. But apparently it had stolen her clothes that time. 'Better that than my life, I suppose.'

She looked down at the group, seeing them speed up at the sight of Haven. The walls as inviting as ever after their experience at Therinfal Redoubt.

Then Liz saw Cole looking up at her, his expression mostly hidden by his hat. But with her enhanced vision, she could have sworn she saw him smirking up at her. Why would he be smirking—

She snorted inwardly, not really caring either way. In a fit of vindictiveness, she dove down toward the group and transformed just before she hit the ground. Right next to Cole. Her feet slammed against the ground with a resounding, 'Sploosh!'. Slush and mud from the road splashed up, coating the rogue's left side. Some of it even went on his face.

He stared at her, eyes wide. Uncomprehending.

Liz smirked and waltzed away, ignoring the snickers from Jade as she continued forth.

'Well, that's what he gets for almost killing me.' She reasoned.

"Just on time!" The dwarf called, seeing some people unloading crates just outside of the walls to the town. They were setting them next to the gate, Cullen stood not far away with a clipboard and some paper.

Maxwell, for the most part, seemed confused. Probably wondering what had been ordered. The dwarf was ahead, having jogged up to the Commander. They were exchanging words. She turned to them as they approached, giving the Herald a thumbs up.

"I ordered the shipment of lyrium. Upon your suggestion, Herald." The dwarven woman sounded so proud of herself, chest puffed out as she told him.

Liz had been the one to 'relay' the message to Jade, telling her to order some. Just in case they did, in fact, make an alliance with the templars. She knew they needed it. From the knowing look coming from Maxwell, he knew it had been his sister. But she didn't acknowledge the look and simply tried to look indifferent.

"We'll make a killing through the Inquisition! A pleasure doing business with ya, really." The dwarf continued, "Especially with the templars. Oooh, this'll be great."

Her hands rubbed together, soft cackles could be heard as she skittered away to help unload the crates.

That's when she was pulled aside by her brother. It was midday and her stomach had started to growl, demanding sustenance. Though the woman had plans to stop by and make sure Adan and Serana didn't need help, first.

"I apologize for going behind your back. You seemed too busy, so I took it upon myself to make sure there was a small supply waiting." Liz explained, feeling small underneath his gaze. Part of her still wanted his approval, though she didn't know why.

"But how did you know-"

"I didn't. Nothing is ever a set in stone, but it is always good to be prepared." The small mage waved her hand lazily in the general direction of the crates, "Notably, this is only a sufficient amount to last a few weeks. Long enough for you to order some with the use of Jade's connections."

He didn't need to know just how they'd been able to get this small shipment so quickly. Liz had no intentions of revealing such a fact, though she was certain Leliana would agree. Of that, she knew, that Maxwell would not approve.

Liz dropped a pouch at Adan's workstation, getting an irritated grunt out of the old man. He looked down at the short woman, his eyes crinkling as he glared at her.

"Some of the scouts had time to collect ingredients." She lied as she unhooked some pouches from her belt. Three in total. The elderly man looked like he didn't believe her for a second, before he shook his head and went back to grinding up some elfroot.

"W-We were running low on some things, thank you." Serana's soft voice came from right next to Liz. She looked over, seeing her dig through the pouches. Taking inventory.

She simply waved her hand at the elf, seemingly dismissing her words. They needn't know that she was the one that collected the things. Having learned what did what from her Hahren. If they knew, she would be asked to do it again. And again. People tended to do that, afterall.

"Have you been reading my n-notes?" Serana asked, smiling shyly at the younger mage. Liz grunted, nodding. Not comfortable with really lying so much to her. She hadn't. She couldn't read, afterall. "I-I used them a lot when first learning about th-the plants. Does it help?"

Liz absentmindedly observed the dusty books that lined the old wooden shelves on the wall. Some of the shelves being used for potions and poultices. A wash basin sat at the far corner of the hut. The young mage had requested to have it refilled and washed on a regular basis. Being finicky about treating her patients without first washing her hands thoroughly.

"Yes. Thank you." She mumbled, wishing she could actually read. All of the books, filled with untapped knowledge to her. It itched at her. She wanted so badly to ask someone to teach her.

But her pride would not allow it.

Yelling could be heard just outside of the hut, causing the three to turn and look at the door curiously. Liz, being the closest to the door, got there first and opened it carefully to peek outside. The crisp air filled her nose as she stared at a small grouping of people just outside of the hut.

"Alright alright, line up!" Jade yelled, watching as the group stood in a perfect line and stared at the dwarf. She walked down the line, examining each person with a look of complete concentration on her features. Her eyes squinted and her lip pursed.

Liz took a curious step outside, feet crunching against the dirt and snow.

"No…no…definite no." She muttered and Liz could see those ones visibly deflate at the words. "Ahah! An elf! You, get your arse in there."

"W-W-What?" The timid elf looked at the woman with wide eyes, probably expecting a racial slur of some sort.

"Yes!" She cackled and her expression morphed entirely, giving Liz the impression that she might have some mental stability issues. The dwarf cooed, "You're perfect."

"Jade." Liz was curious, trying to wave away the image she had in her head of Jade petting the elf's face and saying 'my precious'.

"Erin, dear. It's nice to see you!"

Liz simply gave the small woman a look, wondering why her kitchen staff is made up mostly of elves. The mage knew that she was the lead cook when she was here, but she didn't know much more than that. Her eyes held many questions.

"They have these nimble fingers and they actually do shite right." Jade leaned forward and whispered not-so-quietly, "Also because they're cute, but don't tell anyone I said that."

A cough interrupted Jade's whispers to Liz. The dwarf stood up straight and looked at the source, her nose crinkling.

"Is there a problem here?" It was the bald elf, one of Maxwell's friends.

"Nothing! Erin was just telling me about this—this thing, ya know?"

The man rose an eyebrow, not quite believing her.

"She is gathering kitchen staff." Liz elaborated and the dwarf looked like she'd just been betrayed as she stared over at her.

"Any reason in particular why this is going on in front of my cabin?"

Liz only shrugged at this, not really knowing the answer.

"O-Oh, S-Solas!" Serana skittered up to the man, Solas, and fidgeted. The white haired elf spoke softly, "D-Did you have any t-time to spare? I-I needed to speak with you."

Jade made a 'bleeeegh' noise and stuck her tongue out at Solas when he was looking away toward Serana.

Liz rolled her eyes and turned to walk away. "I need to help Max with some things."

With that, she was off. Ignoring the bickering as Jade accused Serana of fraternizing with the enemy. What he'd done to irritate the dwarf, she didn't know. But the poor man looked completely and utterly confused.

So the young woman simply put it off as another of Jade's oddities. Nothing she did seemed to make sense, afterall.

Maxwell liked to make Liz do the mundane tasks that he didn't feel he needed to be bothered with. Now don't get her wrong, she usually scolded him on the fact that he needed to take responsibility at some point too. But he had these eyes. He would give her those eyes that, she would never admit aloud, could make her cave and do anything.

Puppy eyes.

'I thought that was a trait reserved for younger siblings? Why couldn't I master such an art?' Even her sister in her previous life would constantly give them to her, despite her rowdy demeanor.

Maybe it was because technically she was older than Maxwell, mentally. So by that logic, she was actually the eldest sibling. Though only by a year or two, give or take.

Huh.

Liz rounded the corner quickly, trying to get out of Jade's line of sight as swiftly as possible. The snow shifted underneath her feet as she whirled around the corner and her shoulder collided with something soft. The mage heard said soft thing let out a grunt and stumble back against the building with a 'thud!'. Her ankle rolled and she cringed, arms coming up in attempt to cushion her fall.

'Not again!' Before Liz could get acquainted with the ground, however, an arm hooked itself around her waist and steadied her.

As grateful as she was, she still couldn't help but feel the instant urge to electrocute the person touching her. Though such urges were pushed aside as she stepped away.

"My apologies, I didn't see-" The woman paused mid-sentence, feeling embarrassment flood her system. Oh. Of course she didn't see him.

Cole stood there, looking down at her passively in all of his tall glory. She still couldn't believe she was short, in this world. She thought it was utter crap. Her mouth clamped shut and her eyes snapped down toward his hat, which was now in the snow. A quiet sigh escaped her mouth as she bent down and grabbed it, offering it up to him and trying not to make things awkward. Because it certainly was.

She finally finished, in a hesitant tone "I didn't see you."

"You didn't say anything to Maxwell."

"It isn't my place to say." She directed her gaze elsewhere, not wanting to even look at the man. "But if you harm him, I won't hesitate to fry you."

Before he could answer, she made an 'I'm watching you' gesture as she turned and briskly walked away.

Maxwell, afterall, didn't need anything else to worry about. Especially with the closing of the Breach nearing. Just another month…